E.ventures adds a new $150 million European early stage fund to its $1bn global fund family and hires new general partner

19.05.2016 | London

Today, e.ventures is announcing the closing of a new $150 million early stage fund to target Europe’s best businesses and entrepreneurs, bringing e.ventures’ total assets under management today to more than $1 billion. This new fund, focused on seed and Series A rounds, will be deployed alongside an already active $290 million global growth investment vehicle which targets subsequent financing rounds, allowing entrepreneurs to gain the full benefit of e.ventures’ expertise through the full investment lifecycle.

The firm is also pleased to announce the joining of Bernardo Hernández as a general partner. Hernández has founded multiple companies including real estate listing site idealista.com and has been a senior director of product at Google and the general manager at flickr. Hernández brings more than 10 years of tech investment experience in companies like mobile marketplace Wallapop, social network Tuenti, or retail CRM Index. He also started StepOne Ventures in San Francisco in 2008, to help European companies access the US market. Hernández brings a unique combination of investing and operating skills that will be valuable to e.ventures portfolio companies.

With offices in Berlin, San Francisco, Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow and São Paulo, e.ventures will continue to expand its’ portfolio which has seen it successfully exit investments in the likes of Sonos and Groupon. The firm has been an early investor in category creators such as Farfetch and App Annie maximising the value of its portfolio with direct operational and entrepreneurial support.

With the extension of its’ funds and team, e.ventures is continuing to lead in shaping the future of venture capital. Where historically founders needed more than cash, advice and connections, e.ventures sees the future of venture capital being defined by the following four pillars:

1) Being an equal: Founders do not like aggressive finance-minded investors. Founders prefer investors who assume positive intent, do not play games and can move fast. Founders do not like assholes.

2) Help the founder where the founder needs help: Founders want real value adding capabilities. Founders want a VC team with diverse backgrounds to help them navigate the different aspects of their business. We have built the e.ventures team out of former Entrepreneurs, Operators and Engineers instead of bankers and lawyers. We believe there is so much more value to add besides financial engineering.

3) Here for the long run. Founders want investors that can commit to them for the long run, starting at seed or A through exit. Founders want investors with deep pockets that are not afraid to keep investing in their projects. Currently most VCs look for validation by looking to outside VCs to invest in future rounds impacting valuations and cap tables.

4) Global footprint. Founders go global faster than ever and need investors that can take them across the globe as fast as possible. Christian Leybold, co-founder and general partner at e.ventures, says: “This fund will allow us to utilise our methods to support a greater number of the next generation of high-growth firms across Europe. Our willingness to explore every corner of the continent and provide operational support to the businesses we invest in increases the potential of our funds. Our success to-date validates our approach and we see this fund driving the success of the category creators of tomorrow. By expanding our partner team with Bernardo’s experience and success, we are well positioned to cement our position at the forefront of European venture capital and deliver our vision of the future.”

Bernardo Hernández, general partner at e.ventures, comments: “Joining e.ventures appealed greatly to me as our investment philosophies are the same. Its’ use of technology to identify investment opportunities and the always available operational support to entrepreneurs are features I believe will come to define venture capital in the future. Joining at the same time as closing this fund is something truly exciting and my priority is to uphold the high standards of quality and effort set by the team.”

José Neves, CEO of Farfetch said of the support he received from e.ventures: “As an early investor in Farfetch, e.ventures has been a long-term partner, supporting our global expansion towards becoming a billion-dollar business. Christian Leybold and his team were able to provide real operational support even in markets like Japan where the e.ventures

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About e.ventures

E.ventues is an international early-stage investor where the Otto Group participates as a major investor. Founded in 1998 and built on a strong, shared culture of entrepreneurship, e.ventures is a venture capital firm with global scale. The firm backs founders in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Total assets under management today are more than $1 billion. The e.ventures team has been investing in Internet companies for more than 15 years and operates as one team by combining a global strategy and philosophy with local presence and insights. Focused exclusively at the intersection of consumer Internet, media and mobile, e.ventures aims to help entrepreneurs build transformative companies.